I've always heard that good tennis tuff can be found at Marshall's, but 'ya gotta work hard for it!

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You and (overseas) Skunk may have company. I was talking up TWMAC today to a self-proclaimed 4.0 lady in my restaurant. "Lady" sounds old, she is probably in Vitaly's age bracket: 6 years old (after a couple beers)-85 years old (after a couple sets)

They are; I came straight home to watch my beloved Dodgers beat up on the poor Cubbies.

We're all still standing, so we survived Night One of Sup's boot camp.

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Whew! Good to hear you all survived!

Wish I could have joined you guys, but I had to jet off to a match...maybe next time.

Lost said match in third set tiebreaker. Still haven't figured out how, even though I played *really* well, to...you know...WIN! Played with a new partner who hadn't touched her racquet in two months, but still...ENOUGH ALREADY! NO MAS!

You and (overseas) Skunk may have company. I was talking up TWMAC today to a self-proclaimed 4.0 lady in my restaurant. "Lady" sounds old, she is probably in Vitaly's age bracket: 6 years old (after a couple beers)-85 years old (after a couple sets)

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Ah, and will she be joining us at some point?

Not sure when we're going to have our next meet/mini-meet, but it better be soon, 'cause I had to bring out the down comforter last night! *brrrrrr*

Clinic went well I thought. The first one is just to see what I got myself into. It should and will get harder after yesterday.

Things that I went pleasantly well:

-Hollywood has better footwork than I expected. The three forehand drill really showcased with motivation, HW can deliver. Now if he can get those volleys to stick (remember try not to open up that racquet face as much).
-Xisbum is the energizer bunny. He just kept going and going. He really never slowed down once. Impressive.
-TheJRK never looked more consistent than last night. After a slow start, I really never saw him miss to many or by much. Concentration to a maximum, elasticity supreme. Several volley twist around no looks patent JRK.
-The Wookie showed no remorse. I had to keep an eye on him. Why cause he would crack it and it would beam me near the midsection. Just kidding, I'm so use to be in the line of fire that im not too concerned. Now if he can stop chopping down on his volleys, we may have a winna!

Next week boys (and girls)... its backhand and footwork drills. The around the cone drill kills me... I pity the fool.

VC? Then it’s time to consider PE. Now may not be the best time to launch new ventures, but it’s an excellent time to acquire control of in-demand entities currently challenged by the current environment of credit constrictions.

VC? Then it’s time to consider PE. Now may not be the best time to launch new ventures, but it’s an excellent time to acquire control of in-demand entities currently challenged by the current environment of credit constrictions.

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All true. Either way the meeting went well.. just wont talk about it *secretly points to wookie*...

Clinic went well I thought. The first one is just to see what I got myself into. It should and will get harder after yesterday.

Things that I went pleasantly well:

-Hollywood has better footwork than I expected. The three forehand drill really showcased with motivation, HW can deliver. Now if he can get those volleys to stick (remember try not to open up that racquet face as much).
-Xisbum is the energizer bunny. He just kept going and going. He really never slowed down once. Impressive.
-TheJRK never looked more consistent than last night. After a slow start, I really never saw him miss to many or by much. Concentration to a maximum, elasticity supreme. Several volley twist around no looks patent JRK.
-The Wookie showed no remorse. I had to keep an eye on him. Why cause he would crack it and it would beam me near the midsection. Just kidding, I'm so use to be in the line of fire that im not too concerned. Now if he can stop chopping down on his volleys, we may have a winna!

Next week boys (and girls)... its backhand and footwork drills. The around the cone drill kills me... I pity the fool.

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Good clinic Sup, Xis, JRK, and HW!

I was sweating to get there on time after things blew up right when I was trying to leave. I missed the bat cave entrance to S&P on the first try but still managed to get there about 7.

Sup ran this forehand/volley drill where you have to run around the court. I was ready to die after a minute or two. It was like:

JR - Thinking: "puff....pufff...how many balls does he have in that cart?...puff..."
Sup: Run! MOVE!!!!!

I have to say HW's footwork looked so good, that I now know why he has a mean shoe game! Plus his backswing is like the getting in the way of the grim reaper! Watch out if you are near HW on forehand drills!

Xisbum kept moving amd made me look like a slug, plus he rocked the red sleveless and the crafty game. Hit some killer angled volleys in the cazy 8 drill. - Xisbum, don't worry. We'll get JRK and HW back. We just have to talk a bit more and I need to stick my volleys.

JRK had the plastic man powers in effect. Plus the he raised his ACE/DF percentage to about 55% which was enough to win most games. It's not right, doen't even look like he's hitting hard, then WHAM!

Sup was was nice enough not to seek revenge after a beaned him. Sorry Dude!

It is now ~9pm. I am exhausted. From 12:30 until 8:30 p.m. tonight, I was either in transit to play tennis, playing tennis, or taking a 45 min dinner break.
FLDIAAJ and I played our 5 set marathon. Took almost exactly 3 hours of playing time. I was able to pull out the win in the marathon: 6-2, 6-0, 6-1, 6-0, 6-2. Then we hit some more post match to try to break his strings.

Fatlazy, thanks for the marathon today! and the transport to and from the metro. I would love to make this a weekly thing.

Then I took the metro to Ballston, had some dinner, before heading over to the Quincy Park courts.

My former teammate just switched frames to the KBlade Tours, so he wanted to play. I was, needless to say, already tired from the marathon with FatLazy. So (genius me), decides to suggest playing a set, because I didn't have the energy or motivation or clarity of thought to just hit around. So we played a couple sets, found myself down a break twice in the first set. Got lucky and came back to win with a drop shot suprise return of serve at 30 all up 5-4. Just barely won that set, and then started getting a 2nd (or 3rd or 10th) wind. All of a sudden in the second set, I was back to *close to* full speed: running everything down and spanking winners out of nowhere. Tagged that set 6-1.

Then after we were done, decided I was too physically and mentally exhausted to wait around on the metro, so I walked the 2.5 miles back to my condo. Not sure in hindsight why that occurred to me. Anyway, Lacoste shoes held up fairly well. Am definitely going to feel my feet tomorrow (Lacostes don't have as much cushioning as my Asics), but I'd say for almost 9 hours on my feet, it wasn't the cushioning in the shoes that was causing the problem. Other than that, my only other gripes with the kicks is the long toebox, and outsole pattern- doesn't grip the court quite like my Asics.

It is now ~9pm. I am exhausted. From 12:30 until 8:30 p.m. tonight, I was either in transit to play tennis, playing tennis, or taking a 45 min dinner break.
FLDIAAJ and I played our 5 set marathon. Took almost exactly 3 hours of playing time. I was able to pull out the win in the marathon: 6-2, 6-0, 6-1, 6-0, 6-2. Then we hit some more post match to try to break his strings.

Fatlazy, thanks for the marathon today! and the transport to and from the metro. I would love to make this a weekly thing.

Then I took the metro to Ballston, had some dinner, before heading over to the Quincy Park courts.

My former teammate just switched frames to the KBlade Tours, so he wanted to play. I was, needless to say, already tired from the marathon with FatLazy. So (genius me), decides to suggest playing a set, because I didn't have the energy or motivation or clarity of thought to just hit around. So we played a couple sets, found myself down a break twice in the first set. Got lucky and came back to win with a drop shot suprise return of serve at 30 all up 5-4. Just barely won that set, and then started getting a 2nd (or 3rd or 10th) wind. All of a sudden in the second set, I was back to *close to* full speed: running everything down and spanking winners out of nowhere. Tagged that set 6-1.

Then after we were done, decided I was too physically and mentally exhausted to wait around on the metro, so I walked the 2.5 miles back to my condo. Not sure in hindsight why that occurred to me. Anyway, Lacoste shoes held up fairly well. Am definitely going to feel my feet tomorrow (Lacostes don't have as much cushioning as my Asics), but I'd say for almost 9 hours on my feet, it wasn't the cushioning in the shoes that was causing the problem. Other than that, my only other gripes with the kicks is the long toebox, and outsole pattern- doesn't grip the court quite like my Asics.

Anyway- 9:10- SLEEP

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Sounds like a perfect tennis day....except for walking 2.5 miles instead of taking the metro after 9 hours of tennis......

I need a day off from playing...hit two hours on Wed, three and a half on Thur, and one and a half last night. I'm feeling it!

Just had a nice stroll around Pentagon/Crystal City...had a few errands to run and wanted to pick up my packet for the ATM (even though I'm not running, I had paid for an upgraded t-shirt), and it occurred to me that if I should get hungry, doesn't a certain TWMAC member have an eating establishment in that area? Are we allowed to know what it is called so we may visit? Is there a TWMAC discount???

Speaking of discounts, I stumbled upon the Educator's appreciation weekend at Borders! Score! And, they had 3.99 bargain books....whooo boy, I made out like a bandit!!!

I need a day off from playing...hit two hours on Wed, three and a half on Thur, and one and a half last night. I'm feeling it!

Just had a nice stroll around Pentagon/Crystal City...had a few errands to run and wanted to pick up my packet for the ATM (even though I'm not running, I had paid for an upgraded t-shirt), and it occurred to me that if I should get hungry, doesn't a certain TWMAC member have an eating establishment in that area? Are we allowed to know what it is called so we may visit? Is there a TWMAC discount???

Speaking of discounts, I stumbled upon the Educator's appreciation weekend at Borders! Score! And, they had 3.99 bargain books....whooo boy, I made out like a bandit!!!

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I wasn't there today... and that location is not mine. My location is "coming soon"; soon being a hypothetical it seems.

thanks to the wiz, my serve is improving. i hit a few at Wake and held the ball better (not in "the claw") and tossed it out in front more.
i still think i serve better with the Prestige, it just feels so much easier to swing cuz it is headlight and the 19mm whips through the air like a knife. i even like the grip shape better.
if i remember to do get the YY in the right position, the serve is still pretty good, but my serve is more natural with the Prestige.
i don't want to buy more sticks, so i guess i stick with YY for now.

but thanks for helping to point out some of my flaws... i wish i corrected some of this stuff in july. but i guess now is better than never.

The 315 had some decent pop, and some nice spin potential. But just didnt seem to have any feel at all. I would demo the 315 next to a fischer Mpro no1 at the same weight. The fischers just feel better.

And TF ruined the Tfights IMO. they rouded off the sqaure beem and madethem way stiffer. No feel at all on em. Although the stiffness gives them more power as well, although doesnt have the spin as my old 325's.

All they really had at nike outlet was a few pieces of apparel. no shoes worth anything. just some lower price point models like the city courts. I cant find pics of the clothes they were selling but no super good deals that would beat anything in the closeouts from TW.

Hopefully Xis is still alive after his beloved dodgers swept the cubs outta the playoffs.

Dodgers got a shot at this thing. If the right handed pitchers can get out the left handed hitters of the phils/brewers winner. Cubs had no lefty hitters (Edmonds sucks) and the didgers pitching (Best in NL all year) shut those guys down. Dont celebrate too hard Xisbum, you gotta be ready for thursday

thanks to the wiz, my serve is improving. i hit a few at Wake and held the ball better (not in "the claw") and tossed it out in front more.
i still think i serve better with the Prestige, it just feels so much easier to swing cuz it is headlight and the 19mm whips through the air like a knife. i even like the grip shape better.
if i remember to do get the YY in the right position, the serve is still pretty good, but my serve is more natural with the Prestige.
i don't want to buy more sticks, so i guess i stick with YY for now.

but thanks for helping to point out some of my flaws... i wish i corrected some of this stuff in july. but i guess now is better than never.

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Did you restring with poly in the YY? I also think the Prestige seemed a more natural fit for your game. I have heard of players not being able to play with the rectangular head grips, but you are the opposite. Its like that grip makes more sense with your game. Anyway, hope we can get out there and hit soon.

Hopefully Xis is still alive after his beloved dodgers swept the cubs outta the playoffs.

Dodgers got a shot at this thing. If the right handed pitchers can get out the left handed hitters of the phils/brewers winner. Cubs had no lefty hitters (Edmonds sucks) and the didgers pitching (Best in NL all year) shut those guys down. Dont celebrate too hard Xisbum, you gotta be ready for thursday

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I think the one F1 has right now feels a little weird. Can't say I like those lighter, higher powered Technifibres. Yours all feel decent though.

Hopefully Xis is still alive after his beloved dodgers swept the cubs outta the playoffs.

Dodgers got a shot at this thing. If the right handed pitchers can get out the left handed hitters of the phils/brewers winner. Cubs had no lefty hitters (Edmonds sucks) and the didgers pitching (Best in NL all year) shut those guys down. Dont celebrate too hard Xisbum, you gotta be ready for thursday

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Mannyfest Destiny, my hard-hitting friend, Mannyfest Destiny.

As your favorite Voss-water drinking friend once sang, I'm still standing, although a bit bleary eyed this a.m. after watching Every. Single. Pitch. last night. And you nailed the key - pitching, pitching, pitching. It almost always dominates a short series. Philly will be a bit tougher, but anything can happen in October.

I'll be there Thursday night, rain or shine, ready to keep on keepin' on.

So who else gets body stiffness after traveling. Came into town this morning, ran over to hit with the "conejo" .. last minute thing.

1 game into our match.. my left calf begins to tighten.. not a cramp.. just gets real tight.

So I think.. so this is how you'll get me wookie? clever. Just like Sappy. So Sup made no effort to go for drop shots or anything that required more than 2 steps. I just served hard, hit winners off the return and hit drop shots like it was going out of style (or against topaz). Won 2 and 5.

I think I'm cursed as far as league tennis goes. I end up on lame-*** teams where nobody shows up. We have 8 dudes on our team and I've seen the same 3 dudes every match... wtf is the rest of the team doing?!?!

i restrung the YYs with full poly.. right now the feel is strange... i think the strings need to loosen up a bit.
yah, i am asking a teaching pro if he can sell me some Prestige mids at cost. (i'd be willing to try the Prestige Pros, JRK, but the mid felt pretty awesome..)

I think I'm cursed as far as league tennis goes. I end up on lame-*** teams where nobody shows up. We have 8 dudes on our team and I've seen the same 3 dudes every match... wtf is the rest of the team doing?!?!

If anyone wants to hit Mon-Wed, let me know.

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My 7.0 mixed team still needs players...just saying. There are a ton of matches, too.

Well got back from my Sport and Health Single league match. I won 1 and 1. Should have been 0 and 0 but I had two service games where I was really aggressive coming into the net and just made too many errors.

Anyway, played a nice guy, but he had a 3.0 game that was on the 2.5-ish side. He had a weird grip on his serve and hit the outside of the ball, so he got that reverse slice thing going on, even though he is right handed. Nice dude, but I hope the others in this league are a bit better.

I think I'm cursed as far as league tennis goes. I end up on lame-*** teams where nobody shows up. We have 8 dudes on our team and I've seen the same 3 dudes every match... wtf is the rest of the team doing?!?!

i'm thinking about hitting this week. leg feels decent. no sudden movements. no running around. still can't move to cover the left side of the court. pivot on the left leg is a no no.. however as long as you hit the ball to me about waist high, i should be able to hit it back to you.

p.s sup, i forgot to tell you that i've just discovered the concept of "shared holes" on some of the older prince racquets. the good news is that by skipping a cross up top and bottom makes it look like an authentic babolat stencil

On Saturday Zapvor met me precisely on time, and his demeanor was serious – all business. The business of finding out which University in the metropolitan area has the most attractive female tennis players.

We started at the area’s second-highest rated academic institution. However, the tennis facilities are first-rate, and very well managed. It felt like being far out in the country, but well within the city limits.

Our reservation randomly placed us in the midst of females playing singles and doubles together on surrounding courts. A few minutes before the court time changeover, Zapvor struck up a conversation with a couple of Asian cuties aiming for law school. They were of the imported Asian variety, not domestic. So Zapvor gallantly advised them, as honored guests in this country, to make the LSAT the focus of their lives, right after tennis of course.

After about 73 minutes of vigorous warmup, Zapvor settled into a power baseline rally with more than 30 shots, a reminder of the epic Djokovic-Cilic rally in this year’s US Open that drove the crowd wild. The women on the next court seemed to pause their match play in appreciation of him. So right after the rally we noticed them as well: the tall, leggy Sharapova look-alike (Sharapo’vette?), the Ana Ivanovic clone – and the Maria Kirilenko twin in the blue skirt right outside the fence, looking in – whom Zapvor just wanted to wrap up and take home.

But there are laws against that sort of thing, passed in the ‘80s – and not coincidentally, right after that, the popularity of tennis began its precipitous decline. That explains why tennis is now perceived as an “elite” sport due to its somewhat lower rates of participation, albeit with more enthusiastic players.

In any case, our reserved court time was soon over, so we drove to tennis courts at the area’s highest rated academic institution. Gorgeous town campus, well-worn hard courts. It seemed that every female was hitting across from a male. It felt like we were witnessing mating rituals from a 1950s movie. The atmosphere of this campus was all about serious academics, and the women were very cute, steady girlfriend-types. Zapvor displayed his mild annoyance that all the women were taken, by dumping surplus clay court from his shoes onto the hard surface.

Nonetheless, Zapvor’s earlier comments from the first university tennis facilities remained true at the second university: For women who are in reasonably good shape, sleek tennis outfits and pony tails tends to make them outrageously attractive. Female tennis players also tend to radiate a warm, positive approachable attitude – and presumably understand the importance of tennis in life.

You forgot to mention how when said attractive young aspiring foregin asian (not domestic asain) law students looked below Zapvors waist they immediatly lost any desire to be with him on a sexual capacity. He was probably wearing those 39 inch inseam basketball shorts. Wasnt he.

I have never been bailed on by Zapvor before either. It did take him a week or 2 to get me my 10 bucks for some tourna grip. But its all good in the hood yo.

p.s sup, i forgot to tell you that i've just discovered the concept of "shared holes" on some of the older prince racquets. the good news is that by skipping a cross up top and bottom makes it look like an authentic babolat stencil

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Sap,

You're a poster boy for why one should become an USRSA member. I should buy you a membership package to save those poor racquets from being bent.